Where did 2024 go? While half of the year may be gone, that doesn’t mean your gardening season is over. There are still many things to do in July to help you finish the year out strong. Summer Garden Strongholds Bethany O’Rear, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System home grounds, gardens and home pests regional agent, said there is still time to get some summer-garden favorites planted.
“Some vegetable transplants, such as summer squash, cucumbers, zucchinis, bush beans and tomatoes, can still be planted for you to have a late-summer crop,” O’Rear said. “In the case of tomatoes, be sure to plant a heat-tolerant variety, such as Bella Rosa.”
If you do decide to plant a late-summer crop, O’Rear said it is crucial that you provide adequate water to the plants. Historically, September and October are the driest months of the year in Alabama. In late-planted summer gardens, this is when the plants would start producing fruit.
“The key is to water, water, water,” O’Rear said. “It bears repeating, because without enough water, your plants won’t produce fruit and you won’t have a crop.”
Get Ready to Fall Garden Throughout August and September, there are a lot of great vegetables to plant for a fall garden. This makes July the perfect time to be preparing your garden plot.
“As hot as July can be, it is a good time to get all of your spent plants out of the garden,” O’Rear said. “Diseases can harbor in that decaying plant residue, so removing it now will decrease your risk for diseases in the future.”
Once you remove the plant residue from your garden, you should then till the plot at least 6-to-8 inches deep. This is also a great time to assess the nutrient levels of the soil. If your summer garden was heavily fertilized, you may not need to add anything to the soil before planting your fall garden. However, you can incorporate a complete fertilizer when you till, if needed. If you are unsure about your plot’s nutrient levels, collect a soil sample and send it to the Auburn University Soil, Forage and Water Testing Laboratory for analysis.
Fall Vegetable Crops
While some may think fall is a scarce growing season, there are actually many vegetables that can be grown. Some of the more popular crops include cabbage, lettuce, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, Brussels sprouts, mustard greens, spinach, radishes and turnip greens.
In north Alabama, gardeners can get a jump start on planting some of their fall vegetables in July. These include cabbage, carrots and cauliflower. In late- July, they can start to plant beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collards and kohlrabi.
For the most part, gardeners in central and south Alabama have to wait a little bit longer to start planting. However, while fall crops are mostly planted via direct seeding, gardeners in these parts of Alabama can plant seeds in flats in July. These transplants would then be planted in the garden plot throughout August and September.
“Fall gardens are a lot of fun, so I encourage you to get out there and get your plots ready to grow some of these really delicious vegetables,” O’Rear said.
Some of these fall crops may be a little unfamiliar to you. If that is the case, check out the Grow More Garden Series. These cards provide easy-to-follow growing instructions for many different crops. Find these cards at www.aces.edu/go/growmore. More Information “Alabama Gardener’s Calendar” provides information on what gardening activities are necessary for each month. Also, more information on fall gardening is available in “Basics of Fall Vegetable Gardening.” Find both of these Alabama Extension publications at www.aces.edu.
